The Transporter: Special Delivery Edition

Review by Richard Lee

20th Century Fox Home Video / 2002 / 92 Minutes / Rated PG-13
Street Date: August 23, 2005

Specifications:
-DVD-Video
-DVD-9
-Region 1

Aspect Ratio:
-2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

Audio:
-English 5.1 DTS
-English 5.1 Dolby Digital
-French Dolby Surround
-Spanish Dolby Surround
-Commentary by Actor Jason Statham and Producer Steven Chasman

Subtitles:
-English
-Spanish
-None

Main Menu:
-Play
-Language Selection
-Scene Selection
-Special Features
-Inside Look

Special Features:
-Commentary
-Featurettes: Behind the Scenes…The Transporter (New); Making of The Transporter Original Version
-Storyboard-To-Film Comparison (New): Side-By-Side Comparison, Storyboard, Final Edit 
-Extended Fight Sequences: Wall Street’s House, Container Fight, Bus Station/Oil Fight (All with optional commentary)
-Trailers

Fox’s re-release of 2002’s “The Transporter” onto DVD is aptly timed as an appetizer for the theatrical release of its sequel, aptly titled “The Transporter 2”. This time around, the full-screen option has been thankfully excised in favor of a DTS track, a brand new documentary on the making of the film, storyboard to film comparisons, and a look at the forthcoming sequel; all other special features have been carried over from the original DVD release. 
For those not acquainted with the story, it is now as it was then, about a professional driver, Frank Martin, played by Britain’s answer to Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, who made his debut in “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” and has gone on to other films including “Jet Li’s The One”, “The Italian Job”, and “Cellular”. This driver, or transporter of items of questionable legality if you will, is dead serious about his occupation; so much so that he follows three principle rules: 1. Never deviate from the plan (The deal’s the deal). 2. No Names; and 3. Never mess with the package. It is this last rule that Frank himself breaks and in so doing gets him in a heap of trouble. Said package turns out to be a lovely Asian girl, Lai, played by Hong Kong cinema’s Shu Qi (last name pronounced Chee), making an inauspicious English-speaking debut. Also having trouble speaking English is French actor Francois Berleand who plays a friendly chief of police who helps Frank battle a smuggling ring led by American actor Matt Schulze and Chinese actor Ric Young, who some may recognize as one of Lao Che’s sons in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”. 

“The Transporter” is a joint French, Chinese, and American production co-produced by Luc Besson, who has directed some very interesting cinema including “La Femme Nikita”, “Leon: The Professional”, and “The Fifth Element”. Direction is by Cory Yuen who is known mainly as a martial arts choreographer having staged many fight sequences in China with actor Jet Li; this explains the heavy emphasis on martial arts in this movie. Shot on location in the beautiful French countryside and coastal regions, “The Transporter” is an agreeable action no-brainer with competently staged fight scenes and riveting vehicular chases; a popcorn thriller if there ever was one.

Picture Quality:

This DVD is an exclusive widescreen edition whereas the original gave you a full-screen option; no great loss. This transfer looks just as impressive if not better; much of the daytime scenes have a very warm temperature appearance reflecting lens-filtered photography. Colors are fairly deep; object delineation is reasonably sharp and clear; and everything looks very natural, with no visible artifacts in sight. Blacks are strong and solid with plenty of shadow detail.

Audio Quality:

Now with a DTS option, the 5.1 mix is even more terrific with the surround speakers emitting precise directionality during scenes with screeching tires, churning motors, ricocheting bullets, reflecting voices, and bursting rockets. The LFE channel is constantly pulsating even during non-action sequences when Stanley Clarke’s rap and jazz-inflected score is providing an ambient beat driving the proceedings along.

Scenes for Demonstration Purposes:

1. (5:00) – “The Deal was for Three People”; 2. (29:30) – Frank comes a’knockin’; 3. (44:45) – Assault on the Lighthouse; 4. (70:30) – Bus Station/Oil Fight; 5. (77:55) – If Indiana Jones can do it, I can do it.

Special Features:

Carried over from the original release is an audio commentary by star Jason Statham and co-producer Steven Chasman. Next, you’ll find fifteen minutes of extended fight sequences not shown in theaters, with an optional commentary by Statham, Chasman, and director Yuen. Basically, we’re informed that the fight scenes needed to be toned down to get a PG-13 rating. What a missed opportunity in that an unrated edition of this movie could have been released with the fight sequences intact. This fact, I believe, would have been a better selling point from the point of view of a consumer. The original “Making of” featurette is a 12 minute promo with the usual cast and crew interviews. Trailers include one for “The Transporter” and one for “Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior”.

New features with this DVD include a new 35 minute behind the scenes documentary divided up into segments with the stars and crew behind the film; best part, bloopers with Francois Berleand cracking up trying to utter one of his English lines. Another new item is a storyboard to film comparison that lasts about two minutes and can be viewed in storyboard alone, in side by side storyboard and film, and in the finished edit. Finally, we get a “Look Inside” at “The Transporter 2” which is essentially the trailer for the sequel.